"What did Auntie say?" Arahan messaged Shaista after reaching home.
"I don't want to talk to you," Shaista replied. She even thought, 'I am not an idiot, that I told what my mother said. Or else, you will without hesitation come at me.'
Arahan called her 4–5 times, but she didn't pick up.
"Shaista, you're making me angry," He messaged her again.
"Okay, so your anger is valid anger, but what about what you did to me today? You kissed me in front of my mom. You claimed rights over me in front of the whole school. What will people think about me? Do you even care a little?" Shaista replied.
"Call me. I want to talk to you," Arahan told her again.
A little while later, her call came. "Speak, what do you want to say?" Shaista said.
"Have you ever spoken to any other boy using 'aap' (formal 'you') before?" Arahan asked her.
"I've never even talked to any boy except you," She replied back, but after knowing what she said, she regretted it a little.
"Good girl, see how obedient you are, you did not talk with other boys except for me. You also must know, girls use 'aap' when talking to their husbands. And even when you're so angry, you're still using 'aap' with me… that clearly means you consider me your husband."
"You…" she said furiously, "what kind of logic are you using? I'm in the habit of speaking respectfully, that's why I use 'aap' with you."
"See, even now you're treating me like your husband," Arahan said, laughing.
"I don't want to talk to you at all!" Saying that, she hung up.
He tried calling 2–3 more times. She didn't pick up.
"You're not picking up my calls, right? Then tomorrow you'll face my anger," He messaged her, before going to sleep.
The next day, when he reached near her house, he shouted loudly, "Shaista, come out!"
In a little while Shaista came out, but with her scooty. "I'm not going on your bike. I'll go on my own scooty."
Arahan drove his bike straight inside her house.
"What are you doing?" She asked, completely confused about what he was going to do next.
"Parking my bike. I'm going with you too," He said, and parked his bike right there in her house.
She just stared at him, and then positioned her scooty keys toward him, "You ride the scooty."
"I don't know how to ride it. You ride," Arahan replied.
She sat on the scooty. He sat behind her.
"You're such a shameless man. I don't want to go with you, yet you're still clinging to me," Shaista said, while starting her scooty.
"How can one feel shy with his own wife?" Arahan said, grabbing her waist and pulling her tightly against his body.
"Ah! What are you doing?" She was startled; her balance almost slipped.
"I'm your husband. I can do anything. Just focus on the road."
Once she regained balance, his hands moved up from her waist to her chest. He grabbed her breasts over her clothes.
"Ah… remove your hands! Otherwise I'll tell Auntie," she said angrily.
"You mean my mother?" Arahan asked, still caressing her breasts. "Go ahead and tell her. What will happen after that? At most, your marriage will happen with me. And about the age difference, I don't care about that anymore."
She was stunned by all this, and then she became quiet.
The entire way, he kept playing with her body, when they were about to enter the school gate.
"Please… take your hands off here," Shaista whispered.
He removed his hands. Then they went inside the gate. Many people saw him and Shaista.
---
"Then Shaista, I've been hearing rumors that you're having an affair with a tenth-class boy," Naziya asked, she was another teacher.
"Naziya, he's just a friend. My mom and his mom are old friends, and we're from the same village. That's how we became friends too," Shaista replied calmly.
"'Just a friend,' huh? You're already calling him 'aap' like that… sounds like the friendship is a little more than friendly," Naziya teased with a smirk. Before Shaista could explain further, Naziya walked away.
Slowly, the whispers spread. Because of what he had boldly told to Vinay, "She's mine."
Every kind of rumor started flying, and even reached the principal's ear.
Also in Arahan class, Sneha, Neha, and Payal couldn't resist teasing him. The three girls, all of whom had been his girlfriends for years, clustered around his desk during the short break between periods, their eyes sparkling with mischief.
Neha leaned in first, resting her chin on his shoulder from behind, her voice low and teasing. "So, Mr. 'She's mine'… new girl already? That ride to school looked pretty cozy. We saw how she was glued to your back. Planning to add her to the collection?"
Payal slid into the seat next to him, crossing her legs and brushing her knee against his thigh on purpose. She tilted her head, batting her lashes dramatically. "Yeah, Arahan… introduce us properly next time. Or are you keeping her all to yourself? We might get jealous, you know. And when we get jealous…" She trailed off with a wicked little smile, letting her fingers trace a slow circle on his forearm.
Sneha stayed standing, arms folded, but her expression was softer, a mix of worry and possessiveness. She reached out and playfully tugged at his collar, pulling him closer for a second. "Remeber, I am still a virgin, before you add extra collection, first make me woman."
Although Sneha has a shy personality. She also wants to compete for her position.
Arahan smirked, caught between amusement and the growing heat from their combined attention. He leaned back in his chair, letting his hand casually rest on Payal's knee under the desk for a brief squeeze. "Relax, girls. She's new, that's all. Nothing's changed with you three."
---
Meanwhile, the principal called a meeting with the teachers and strictly warned everyone not to discuss the rumour about Shaista. Then he summoned Shaista privately.
"Shaista, I've heard all these things going around. Your father is a good friend of mine, so I've suppressed the matter. But it would be best if you stay away from Arahan. People won't blame him, they'll blame you. You're quite a bit older than him. If you want, I can expel him from the school right now."
"No, Uncle, please don't. I'll make sure to keep my distance. Expelling him would ruin his entire year," Shaista said softly. The principal reluctantly agreed.